With all 225 precincts reporting, Jolly has 48.43 percent of the vote; Sink has 46.56 percent and Overby has 4.83 percent.

The race for the 13th congressional district seat in Pinellas County garnered national attention and nearly $9 million in outside money. The district was considered a tossup, and ads for Sink and Jolly have inundated mailboxes and airwaves in recent weeks.

The special election served as the first test of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul ahead of November's midterm elections. Local issues took a backseat to the health care law as both national parties and outside groups flooded the swing-voting district with ads, phone calls and mailings about "Obamacare."

Democrats and Republicans used the race to audition national strategies.

Jolly's election night headquarters in Clearwater Beach erupted into
loud cheers as it became clear he was the winner. In his victory speech,
Jolly simultaneously struck a conciliatory tone and expressed gratitude
for his mentor, Young, and Young's family. Jolly was introduced by
former The Price is Right game show host Bob Barker, via video. Young's
two adult sons were also onstage with Jolly, and he embraced them at the
end of his speech.

Jolly didn't mention the issue that dominated much of the campaign -
the president's health care package - and instead said that Pinellas
County must work together.

"This race is not about defending a broken agenda in Washington or
advancing a broken agenda in Washington. This race is about serving the
people in our own community," he said. "Let's dispense with the rancor
and vitriol of the last five months."

Jolly thanked Sink and Overby and said it was "OK" that tens of thousands of others voted for his opponents.

"While this campaign at times seemed to be partisan, your next congressman is not partisan," he said.

In St. Petersburg, Sink's party was subdued. Backed by her adult
children, Sink began her concession speech by thanking her campaign team
and the thousands of volunteers who helped her congressional bid. She
spoke to a couple hundred stoic supporters in a half-empty ballroom at a
lakeside Hilton in St. Petersburg.

"We know that life brings many challenges. It brings many
opportunities. My values have always been to do good for my family and
for my community," she said.

"We don't know what the future holds," she said, "but I'll do what I've always done and continue to serve my community.

As Jolly and Sink shook hands with voters around the district
Tuesday, steady streams of people filed into retirement communities,
churches and libraries to cast ballots. As of Monday, 27 percent of
registered voters had cast ballots through absentee or early voting,
with Election Day turnout increasing throughout the afternoon.

The battle for Florida's 13th District seat was a prequel of sorts to
the national fight this year over who controls Congress in the last two
years of Obama's final presidential term. The House is expected to
remain under Republican control. But in the Senate, Republicans are
hoping to leverage Obama's unpopularity and his health care law's wobbly
start to gain the six seats required to control the 100-member chamber.

That made the race in Florida a pricey proving ground for both parties heading into November elections.

Jolly, a former Young aide backed by Republicans and outside groups,
campaigned on repealing the health care law, saying in one ad that Sink
would undermine Medicare because of Democratic-passed cuts to programs
under "Obamacare."

The message is a rallying cry for Republican voters.

"No more big government. We've got to stop," said Irene Wilcox, a
78-year-old retired waitress and Republican from Largo who voted for
Jolly.

Others described Sink as a clone of Obama and House Democratic Leader
Nancy Pelosi, a key argument of Jolly and national Republicans.

"As bad as Bush may have been, he was a saint compared to the guy we
have in Washington," said Rich Castellani, a retired treasury agent who
supported Jolly.

Meanwhile, Sink, Florida's former chief financial officer and the
Democratic nominee for governor in 2010, painted Jolly as an extremist
who wants to "take us back" to when people were denied coverage due to
existing conditions. She pledged to "to keep what's right and fix what's
wrong" in the health care law.

That argument resonated with some voters.

"While I know it's not perfect, it's may be the beginning of where we
can provide adequate health care to everyone, not just the wealthy,"
said Frieda Widera, a 51-year-old Democrat from Largo who backed Sink.

Others compared the botched rollout to the beginnings of popular government programs like Social Security and Medicare.

In an attempt to deflect criticism over the law, Sink and Democrats
painted Jolly as a Washington lobbyist who backs efforts to privatize
Social Security and gut Medicare. The attack put Jolly on the defensive
in recent weeks, and some voters cited concern about GOP cuts to
programs for the elderly. More than one in four registered voters in the
district is older than 65.

"The Republican Party thinks they are hurting President Obama," said
George Nassif, an 82-year-old Republican who voted for Sink. "They are
not. They are hurting the people."

Many voters expressed disgust at the amount of money spent on the
race - and the relentless barrage of television ads and mailers that
were on par with a presidential election.

"I stopped watching television because the ads were driving me
crazy," said William McConnell, a 72-year-old forensic accountant and
lifelong Republican. "It was packed with lies on both sides." He cast
his ballot for Overby as a protest vote.

In a sign that the GOP was concerned about losing votes to the
Libertarian candidate, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul recorded a
phone message for Jolly last week aimed at Overby's supporters.

Both major political parties made a last-minute drive for voters over the last week.

Clinton recorded a phone call last week seeking local volunteers to
help with Sink's campaign, and a half dozen House Democrats emailed
fundraising appeals to their own supporters on her behalf. More than a
third of Jolly's campaign contributions came from members of Congress.

Meanwhile, Ryan joined Jolly on a conference call with voters.

While Republicans held the congressional seat for four decades until Young's death last year, the district's voters favored Obama in the 2008
and 2012 presidential elections. The district is 37 percent Republican,
35 percent Democrat and 24 percent independent.

Sink outspent Jolly by more than 3 to 1 on television advertising,
though outside groups aligned with the GOP helped narrow the overall
Democratic advantage.